A MATURE showing.
It wasn’t always on Carlton’s terms, but the way in which the Blues managed to craft a big 14-point win against the Gold Coast Suns drew the praise of AFL Interim Coach Josh Fraser.
Trailing in each quarter, the Blues kept finding a way to respond, with some of their youngsters leading the way in a return to winning form.
Here’s what Fraser had to say.
On the game as a whole:
“I loved a lot of what that game presented. Structurally, we couldn’t really play a different way today because we didn’t have Harry in front of the ball, so that limited the levers we could pull. It forced us to continue to play the way we set out to in the face of being challenged at different times. It was a great opportunity for the group to manage the momentum shifts, a couple of goals in a row.
“We’re still very much finding out about how we stay connected on the field, how we double down on our roles and execute. Over the course of four quarters, to persist and continue to play our way - our pressure game was strong, we owned the ball at the right times, we took the game on at the right times.
“It wasn’t perfect, I thought some of our fundamentals were quite poor at different stages. We know we’ve got this work in front of us, and this will be ongoing. It’s not a quick fix, but to persist with our method is really pleasing.”
On the impact of a young Blue up forward:
“We should take a second to talk about Talor Byrne. He’ll get more spotlight because of the numbers and the goals, but consistently over the course of the year, he’s applied pressure we just haven’t had in our front half. His aerial craft for a smaller player is elite, his ground-level pressure is elite, he makes good decisions with the ball.
“He’s really exciting: Carlton supporters should be excited about being part of our footy club moving forward. Then you throw in the Jagga Smiths, the Harry Deans, the Lachie Cowans, the Billy Wilsons, Cooper Lord plays today - there’s a really exciting core group of young players coming through that Carlton fans should be excited by.”
On Patrick Cripps’ continued impact:
“I’ve spoken a little bit about ‘Crippa’ - the on-field form is one thing, but the leadership attached to it is just as important. He has led this group incredibly well. In some ways, we’ve taken some of the burden off him and allowed him to spread some of the leadership load. Whether that has changed his approach to the game or not, I’m not sure.
“But I love how he’s doing things on-field that are helping others, and he doesn’t feel as though he has to do everything which maybe in the past he has. He’s such a team-first guy and a Carlton person, he’s leading the group incredibly well.”
On Nic Newman’s 150th ending early for the milestone man:
“Naturally you’d be disappointed, milestone game and a hamstring injury early. It’s part of footy unfortunately. He’s a great character with great support. We’ll get more information early in the week and see where it sits, but he’s been an important player for us.”
On how the team navigated an early injury:
“I think that adds to the performance today: even when you look at last week, we lost a couple of players throughout the game, but the grit and fight from the playing group was still there. The intent to play our way was still there.
“Today, again, we had to persevere and find a way. It was a high transition game and when you lose a player it spreads the load through others, so I thought our resilience was quite strong.”
On Harry McKay’s potential availability next week:
“Hopeful. He came into the Club last week with the intent to get up and going, but it didn’t quite happen for him. I’d imagine because of that process, he’d be better placed coming into next week. We have to map out what the week looks like for him, but he has to train well to put his hand up for selection.”
On whether that was Jagga Smith’s standout game:
“He’s been consistent. I don’t look at the Rising Star stuff too often, but we’ve got a couple of guys that will be in content with Jagga and Harry Dean. Harry is so impressive as a young defender, and Jagga’s consistency is no surprise because he puts so much work into his game.
“He’s a guy who turns up on Monday and wants to know how he can get better, he owns performance and he owns mistakes and he’s so driven. That permeates through the group. Having a young player come in and want to drive standards has been so important for us. His form has been terrific: it’s hard to separate his performances, he’s so consistent.”
On a first-year key defender having as immediate an impact as Harry Dean:
“Off the top of my head I can’t think of anybody. His competitiveness overall - for a young guy in his first year to be how competitive he is, that jumps off the page to me. You see it at training, you see it game day. He wants to win contests, he wants the team to win, he wants to be a great teammate, he’s fantastic around the group.
“He’s clearly got a historical link to the Club through his dad, he’s a passionate Carlton man. He’s energising our supporters: he’s having contests out there and the fans are getting behind him. It’s so exciting to see, and he’ll continue to get better.”
On whether the team has mentioned its proximity to the wildcard spots:
“They haven’t and I haven’t, but I think there’s an awareness in the background. It’s not so much around that as it is what we’re building through the week, which is where we’re at. I’d be doing a disservice to the Club to try and take it forward if we started to take our eyes off what has given us the chance to be in this position.
“Our training standards are improving, our want individually and collectively is improving, we are not a finished product and we’ve got so much work in front of us. But the next four weeks gives us the chance to keep building on that, and we have an awareness of where we sit in relation to the ladder gives us something to chase.”
